Cade The Warrior

"Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and YOU WILL BE SECURE, FEASTING ON HIS FAITHFULNESS." Psalm 37:3 A dear friend bought me the Passion Translation Bible and I cannot be stopped. It is amazing. It's like meeting all of my old friends for the first time all over again. SO HAPPY.  This verse just about sums up this past week. Feasting on faithfulness. Feasting is the hilarious reality that took place the entire time Cade was getting fluids for his round of chemo. He devoured two peanut butter and honey sandwhiches, two oranges, an entire Jimmy John's, etc. It was amazing.  I took a faith-filled friend of mine to chemo, and then Chad and Cade ended up having to stay the night in the hospital after all to make sure Cade got the eight hours of post-treatment fluids he needed, but even that was a gift. I sent Chad this song and this message to listen to, and he did and we both felt so refreshed the ne...

We were surprised with an awesome family weekend when last Thursday we got to clinic and learned Cade's white blood cell count was too low to administer the chemo group he was scheduled for. It ended up being a big fat gift, in the form of a great weekend and Cade acting completely normal. The docs think he might have been fighting something off, but it sure wasn't manifesting and still hasn't. I am filled with absolute confidence that our Master Oncologist gave us another weekend at home, and He is also supernaturally gearing our little buddy to have the right infusions at just the right times.  Please pray that Cade continues to thrive, and that when we go in Tuesday (tomorrow) for the chemo group again, his counts are up and he can get them...if its the right time. We want to do whatever is best for him, but staying close to schedule would be good so we can knock this stuff out. We go in tomorrow for the actual week eight, (I was a week early last week, acco...

We are heading into this week encouraged. Cade is like a little mini rocket, zooming around our house and crashing into everything. It is both incredibly heartening and amazing. Little boys are so great. Here are some things we are praying this week in addition to the chemo prayer points listed here : 1. Jesus Pre-Treats: every time before actual chemo, Cade receives "pre-treats". I always think that's such a tricky name for things like Zofran and steroids, because treats to me usually are cookies and brownies. But I got excited by praying last week that God would begin giving Cade pre-treats at home that actually would be fun. As in the blood of Jesus pre-treats. I am reading this book called The Good Fight of Faith  and there is this absolutely nuts passage about Heaven existing outside of time, so Jesus' work on the cross is forever fresh. His blood is forever being shed for our sins, for our sicknesses, for our brokenness. That can seem so graphic, but in...

On the day I called, you answered me;     my strength of soul you increased. Though I walk in the midst of trouble,     you preserve my life ; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,     and your right hand delivers me.   The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me ;     your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.     Do not forsake the work of your hands. Portions of Psalm 138 We have an off-week this week from everything. So we are knee deep in puzzles and letter learning and Wii games. Now that so many of you have blessed Cade with Wii games we are now trying to find the right parameters for how long he can play every day. I am shocked/embarrassed/amazed at how good he has gotten at Mario already. The kid can beat me and he is 5.  Cade is doing better than ever. Truly. It's easy to forget how miraculous this really is- and if I settle in too much I lose the wonder. Let's not los...

Cade is doing great! I've been drinking up these precious, normal life days in all their fullness. It's amazing how this whole experience has increased our capacity to feel joy. In every sense, we are more aware and alive to the gift of life. We are still completely amazed at how unscathed he was by this past five day treatment. We are praying fervently that all of the treatment went straight to all the cancer, and his healthy cells stay healthy. Thank you for praying with us.  Cade has a chemo infusion tomorrow at 12 pm EST. As always, the chemo prayer points we initially wrote are  here . Below are some verses we prayed last week over Cade throughout his infusions, and ones we will also be praying tomorrow.  1. Please pray that this chemo would be a tool in God's hands. Psalm 119:91: "All things are your servants." I love this simple verse. When I read it last week I got excited. God is just SO in control of everything. Even in the crazy book o...

This week has been amazing. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING! We are so humbled by everyone who has reached out, sent a text, sent WAY TOO GENEROUS gifts. We have literally been surrounded by people throughout these past six weeks, all over the country, and close by who have refused to let us walk alone. I have been encouraged by each and every person who has reached out. It has not gotten lost in the shuffle- it has been an IV of hope to our family.  I am so glad when God said it wasn't good for man to be alone, He wasn't just talking about a spouse. We have needed people more than ever before in our lives, or at least recognized the supreme value of friends.  This week I've taken Cade and Lily every day to chemo, and brought a friend. It's a weird, unprecedented form of a hangout for me. But brave friends have said yes when I've asked, and in a place where I was anticipating loneliness, fear, and anxiety, light has invaded with blistering hope. We've prayed over ev...

Merry Christmas! We have had a really wonderful Christmas as a family, and Cade has been refusing naps, zooming cars around the floor, tackling Chad, and full of exuberant and boyish joy. We are incredibly, deeply thankful. He has been keeping all his food down, eating copious amounts of pancakes (that I snuck a lot of flax, juice plus protein powder, and whole milk into), and bananas and peanut butter. I'm praying for him to get good and fat and happy in the coming months. Cade finished radiation therapy last Friday, and several friends met us at 7 am that morning, with a motorized car with a gigantic bow on it for Cade to ride down the hallway to his last treatment. He rang the bell, did great, and woke up grumpy as usual. We are thankful that radiation is behind us, and that the last week of it (which was supposed to be the worst) actually turned out to be the best week of all the treatments. Cade had energy, ate tons, goofed around, and thrived. Wow. Thank you for praying....